The Invisible Man
by Pornell Fangirl
Summary: The mystery behind the man. Warning:- contains underage romance. practically nothing, but it's there... m/m slash


Disclaimer:- All recognisable characters belong to The CW and Mark Schwann.

Note:- This came from reading that Cullen Moss is older than most of the other actors on the show and that he saw Junk as a high school drop-out that finally found a place to belong, even if they only kept him around to buy the beer. I think it's more than that...

It started as a joke. Fergie came up with it and the others laughingly agreed. Now it's almost like the joke has been forgotten and I've somehow slipped into this persona. This fake me that the guys created that night on the Rivercourt.

My name is Anthony. I bet none of you knew that. Truth is, there's only a handful of people in the world who ever did. My parents, Principle Turner and Fergie. I've known Mouth, Skills, Luke and Haley just as long. Keith and Jimmy too before 'that day' but I'm sure not one of them know. They've never asked.

Luke got a chance of a lifetime the day he was asked to join the Ravens, but here's another secret... So did I.

How many of you, if you could, would go back and change your story? Most of you I reckon. I was given that chance and this is my story.

My name is Anthony Moretti. Everyone calls me Junk. Even my Mom. I'm 24 years old and for the last two years I've been a student at Tree Hill High.

The Rivercourt guys all know this -apart from the name thing- and that's where the joke began.

The night Lucas beat his brother at one on one to win his place on the high school basketball team, me and Fergie were sitting on the sidelines as usual and he turned to me.

"You know, that regret you had... Not getting your high school diploma... It's not too late to change that."

I scoffed at him, wondering what the hell he'd been smoking. My dad had died when I was 17, leaving Mom to run his businesses. Three scrapyards in the county was too much for her though so I'd done what I had to do. I dropped out to help. Turns out I'm kinda good at it though. Three yards have become seven throughout the state.

But dropping out, no matter how successful I'd become had left me with a huge gap in my life. At 22, I moved to the site of our newest yard in Tree Hill hoping to start over. To find something that meant something again.

Late one night I came across this old abandoned basketball court down by the river. There were four high school kids there with buckets and scrubbing brushes trying to get the place back in shape.

As I approached, they stopped what they were doing and greeted me with smiles and waves, not the suspicion I was expecting.

"Hey," one of them nodded at me. A tall skinny guy with the worst afro I'd seen since Shaft, a million dollar smile and big brown eyes that made me wish I was a kid again.

I smiled back at the motley group. "Hey. What's up?"

Three words, that's all it took. Three words and it was like they'd just discovered a long lost brother. They never asked why a guy my age was hanging around a group of 17 year olds and I never admitted it when the brand new hoops and picnic bench just happened to turn up.

I suspect Luke knew though he didn't say anything. Smart guy that one.

The only ones who treated me with even remote suspicion were Luke's Uncle Keith and his best friend Haley, a cute girl with eyes that seemed to see right through you.

One day, I was in the office at the scrapyard going through the paperwork when they double teamed me.

It took nearly an hour of stumbling through an explanation, but by the time they'd left, Keith had accepted my reasons for hanging around and Haley was smiling enigmaticly.

As they were leaving, she turned in the doorway. "Y'know, Fergie's a good guy. He's older than his years too."

I could feel the colour drain from my face. I tried so hard to fight it, to hide it and she'd known all along.

"I... I wouldn't... You know..." I stammered.

"I know," she smiled back. "That's why I'm gonna trust you when the time is right."

Well, a few days after that midnight game, an envelope appeared in my office, a post-it note attached to the cover.

'I spoke to Principle Turner. You have an appointment with him tomorrow. Good luck as a mature student. Haley"

Shaking my head in disbelief, I opened the envelope to find the enrollment forms I needed to go back to high school and get my diploma.

Principal Turner didn't ask any of the questions I was expecting. Instead he told me how proud he was of his students for encouraging me to better myself. So there I was, 22 years old, a high school junior and I finally got that piece that was missing.

That was two years ago. A lot of new people have come and gone from our lives, Peyton, Nathan, Brooke, Bevin, Tim, Shelley, Felix, Anna, Rachel, Chase... and there's just one person left who still remembers me. Still knows me better than I know myself.

We graduated two weeks ago, the Farewell Seniors party that Rachel threw was tonight and tomorrow, Fergie will turn 18.

Tomorrow is also the night I'm going to tell him I love him and that I'll follow him wherever he goes. The funny thing is, I'm not even nervous because twenty seconds ago, he took hold of my hand for the first time and no-one batted an eyelash. Except Haley. She smiled. And that's enough.

My name is Anthony 'Junk' Moretti. I'm 24 years old and I'm in love.


End file.
